Tragedy Looper: Mystery Circle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Major Rule Changes
  • Removing and Placing Extra Cards
  • The Extra Gauge
• Main Plots
• Subplots
• Roles
• Incidents

Major Rule Changes

This set uses the Extra Gauge and the Extra cards. The Extra Gauge marker is also used.

Removing and Placing Extra Cards

When you remove all counters from cards and locations in the "removal and placement of counters" step during Loop start, also remove all Extra cards that have been set on other cards. Then, if the plot rules states that Extra cards should be placed anywhere, place them.

The Extra Gauge

In this set, the Extra Gauge represents the number of Incidents that have occurred. During "removal and placement of counters", set the Extra Gauge to 0. For each Incident that occurs, increase the Extra Gauge by 1. This is done regardless of whether the Event itself has any effect or not.

Main Plots

Main plots are the core of the script, normally containing the loss conditions.

Murder Plan

• Roles to add: Key Person, Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: none

Tightrope Plan

• Roles to add: Brain, Killer
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Extra Gauge is at 1 or lower, the Protagonists lose.

A Drop of Strychnine

• Roles to add: Key Person, Poisoner, Fool
• Plot rule: [Always] When determining whether "Serial Murder" or "Suicide" triggers, count Intrigue counters also as Paranoia counters.

A Quilt of Incidents

• Roles to add: Conspiracy Theorist, Fool
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If the Extra Gauge is at 3 or more, the Protagonists lose.

The Black School

• Roles to add: Brain
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If there are at least X Intrigue counters on the School, the Protagonists lose. X is 1 less than the current loop number. (Protagonists will always lose the first loop if there is at least one Intrigue counter on the School.)

Subplots

Plots that work in the script's background. They might add other loss conditions or rules. The subplots are comparatively easy to find out.

The Hidden Freak

• Roles to add: Friend, Serial Killer
• Plot rule: none

Dance of Fools

• Roles to add: Fool, Friend
• Plot rule: none

Isolated Institution Psycho

• Roles to add: Paranoiac, Therapist, Conspiracy Theorist
• Plot rule: [Loop start] If the Extra Gauge was 2 or less at the end of the previous loop, increase it by 1.

An Absolute Will

• Roles to add: Obstinate
• Plot rule: none

Tricky Twins

• Roles to add: Twin, Paranoiac
• Plot rule: none

A Smell of Gunpowder

• Roles to add: Serial Killer
• Plot rule: [Loss condition: Loop end] If there are a total of 12 or more Paranoia counters on the remaining characters, the Protagonists lose.

I Am a Master Detective

• Roles to add: Private Investigator, Conspiracy Theorist, Friend
• Plot rule: none

Roles

What the characters are hiding.

Poisoner

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If the Extra Gauge is at 2 or more, any one character in this location dies (once per loop). [Mandatory] [Day end] If the Extra Gauge is at 4 or more, the Protagonists die.
• Appears in plots: A Drop of Strychnine (main plot)

Killer

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Day end] If the Key Person has at least 2 Intrigue and is in this location, you may kill the Key Person. [Optional] [Day end] If this character has at least 4 Intrigue, you may kill the Protagonists.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), Tightrope Plan (main plot)

Fool

• Max limit: 1
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident step] After this character has triggered an Incident, remove all Paranoia counters from its card.
• Appears in plots: A Quilt of Incidents (main plot), A Drop of Strychnine (main plot), Dance of Fools (subplot)

Private Investigator

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character can never be a culprit. [Mandatory] [Always] This character cannot die. [Mandatory] [Incident step] If the Extra Gauge is 0, and the culprit is in this location, the Incident triggers regardless of the number of Paranoia counters on the culprit.
• Appears in plots: I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Conspiracy Theorist

• Max limit: 1
• Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Paranoia counter on a character in this location.
• Appears in plots: A Quilt of Incidents (main plot), Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot), I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Serial Killer

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Day end] If there is exactly 1 other character in this location, that character dies. (Remember that corpses are not counted as characters.)
• Appears in plots: The Hidden Freak (subplot), A Smell of Gunpowder (subplot)

Friend

• Max limit: 2
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Loop end] If this character is dead, reveal its role, and the Protagonists lose. [Mandatory] [Loop start] If this character's role has been revealed, it gets one Goodwill counter.
• Appears in plots: The Hidden Freak (subplot), Dance of Fools (subplot), I Am a Master Detective (subplot)

Brain

• Max limit: none
• Optional Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place 1 Intrigue counter on this location or on any character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), The Black School (main plot), Tightrope Plan (main plot)

Key Person

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Always] When this character dies, the Protagonists immediately lose and the loop ends.
• Appears in plots: Murder Plan (main plot), A Drop of Strychnine (main plot)

Paranoiac

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Optional] [Mastermind ability] You may place an Intrigue or Paranoia counter on this character.
• Appears in plots: Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot), Tricky Twins (subplot)

Twin

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident trigger] When this character triggers an Incident, it is considered as being on the diagonally opposite location.
• Appears in plots: Tricky Twins (subplot)

Obstinate

• Max limit: none
• Mandatory Goodwill Refusal Ability: [Mandatory] [Script creation] This character must be the culprit of an Incident. [Mandatory] [Incident step] This character always triggers its Incidents (if alive), regardless of the amount of Paranoia counters on it.
• Appears in plots: An Absolute Will (subplot)

Therapist

• Max limit: none
• Ability: [Mandatory] [Mastermind ability] If the Extra Gauge is at 1 or above, remove 1 Paranoia counter from any other character in this location.
• Appears in plots: Isolated Institution Psycho (subplot)

Incidents

Accidents and horrors during the script. Are they intentional or fated to be?

Serial Murder

• Effect: One other character in the culprit's location dies. The same character may be the culprit of several Serial Murder Incidents in the same script.

Hospital Incident

• Effect: If the Hospital has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the Hospital dies. Also, if the Hospital has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

Portent

• Trigger: When determining whether this Incident triggers or not, treat the culprit's Paranoia limit as 1 less than its printed limit.
• Effect: Put 1 Paranoia counter on any character in the culprit's location.

Increasing Unease

• Effect: Place 2 Paranoia on any character, then 1 Intrigue on any other character.

Terrorism

• Effect: If the City has at least 1 Intrigue, everyone in the City dies. Also, if the City has at least 2 Intrigue, the Protagonists die.

Bestial Murder

• Trigger: When determining whether this Incident triggers or not, treat the culprit's Paranoia limit as 1 more than its printed limit.
• Effect: Resolve "Serial Murder" and "Increasing Unease" in that order. Then increase the Extra Gauge by 1 more step (as a result, this Incident will cause the Extra Gauge to rise 2 steps in total).

Suicide

• Effect: The culprit dies.

Faked Suicide

• Effect: Set an Extra card on the culprit. During the remainder of the loop, the Protagonists may not play any cards on character(s) with Extra cards.

A Suspicious Letter

• Effect: Move any character in the culprit's location to any location. If the character actually changed location, that character cannot be moved the next day.

Closed Circle

• Effect: Reveal the culprit's location. For 3 days, including the day the Incident occurred, any movement to or from that location is nullified.

The Silver Bullet

• Effect: The loop ends after this Incident step (resulting in a Protagonist victory unless any loss condition is fulfilled). This Incident does not increase the Extra Gauge.